Department of Energy SBIR/STTR

The biographical information (biosketch) for each senior/key person must not exceed 3 pages.

In addition to the 15-page limit, the Project Narrative must not exceed 7,500 words of text. Both the 15-page and 7,500-word limits apply (the guide states '15 pages, 7,500 words of text, including the cover page').

The Project Summary/Abstract must not exceed 1 page and is attached separately (Field 7) from the Project Narrative.

The Project Narrative must not exceed 15 pages, including the cover page. Bibliography/References Cited, Facilities & Other Resources, and Equipment information all count against the 15-page limit. The budget justification, level-of-effort worksheet, and project summary are attached separately and do not count.

DOE does not mandate a specific font typeface for the Project Narrative. The only typographic constraint located is the 11-point minimum font size. No required font family (e.g., Times New Roman/Arial) appears in the DOE Aug 2023 PDF guide or the PAMS application guide.

The Project Narrative must use a minimum of 11-point font size. (This font-size rule is stated in the PAMS application guide, not in the Aug 2023 PDF guide, which gives only the 15-page/7,500-word limits.)

A Disclosure of Foreign Relationships form is a mandatory document, submitted as a PDF in Field 12, in accordance with the SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022. The current DOE applicant-resources page confirms it remains required.

A Letter of Intent (LOI) is mandatory and must be submitted (via PAMS) by the LOI deadline. If you fail to submit an LOI by the deadline, you are ineligible to submit a full application. The full application must match the LOI; applications not meeting this requirement may be administratively declined.

Each page of the Project Narrative must include a header with the company name, project title, and topic number/subtopic letter; and each page must be sequentially numbered in the page footer.

Only one Principal Investigator (PI) is accepted per project; co-PIs are not allowed. Applications listing co-PIs will be delayed while the applicant corrects the error. (The guide also notes the 'Co-PI' role is not currently used by DOE.)

A brief Commercialization Plan (4 pages maximum) MUST be included in a Phase I grant application. If the Commercialization Plan is not included at the time of application submission, the application will be administratively declined without review. It is evaluated under the 'Impact' criterion and is submitted via Question 7 of the SBIR/STTR Information Form (attached to Field 8).

Per the Field 8 outline, the Project Narrative must include ALL of: Cover page; Proprietary Data Legend (if applicable); Identification and Significance of the Problem/Opportunity and Technical Approach; Anticipated Public Benefits; Technical Objectives; Work Plan; Performance Schedule; Facilities/Equipment; Research Institution info (required for STTR, optional for SBIR); Other Consultants and Subcontractors; and Bibliography & References Cited. The outline also lists Phase II and Phase III Funding Commitments as OPTIONAL items, and (per the Aug 2023 guide) a PIER Plan appendix (see separate rule on current status).

Each application must respond to a specific Topic and, within it, to only one subtopic announced in the current FOA. The topic number/subtopic letter must be identified in a header on each page of the Project Narrative and on the SF424 R&R in field 11 (preceding the project title). Topic numbers change each FOA release; the application is evaluated under the topic identified, and DOE will not reassign applications to the correct topic number if identified incorrectly.

For SBIR, the PI's primary employment must be with the small business applicant at the time of award and during the conduct of the proposed research. Primary employment means no less than 20 hours per week (more than one-half of a 40-hour workweek) in the employment of the small business, and no more than 19 hours per week in the employment of another organization.

For STTR Phase I and Phase II, not less than 40 percent of the R/R&D work must be performed by the SBC, and not less than 30 percent by a single partnering Research Institution. Deviations from this STTR split are not allowed (specified in statute at 15 USC 638(e)).

The awardee small business concern must have no more than 500 employees, including the employees of its affiliates, and SBA must not have issued a size determination currently in effect finding the concern exceeds the 500-employee size standard.

For Phase I, the research/R&D project activity must be performed in the United States. Based on a rare and unique circumstance (e.g., a supply, material, or study design not available in the U.S.), DOE may allow a particular portion of the work to be performed or obtained in a foreign country, but it must be thoroughly justified in the application.

For SBIR Phase I, a minimum of two-thirds (67%) of the research or analytical effort must be performed by the awardee small business concern; consultant/contractual third-party arrangements generally may not exceed 33% of the total requested. Deviations require written approval from the Funding Agreement officer. (For SBIR Phase II the minimum is one-half / 50%.)

The SBC must be directly owned and controlled by individuals (who are U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens) or by SBCs that are themselves so owned/controlled (an SBC directly owned and controlled by an Indian Tribe, or by another SBC so owned/controlled, is also eligible), per 13 CFR 121.702. Alternatively, an SBC may be more than 50% owned by multiple domestic VC operating companies, hedge funds, and/or private equity firms (subject to agency program rules and SBA registration); it may NOT be more than 50% owned by a single such firm.

Before submitting, applicants must register with: SAM.gov (System for Award Management, which generates the UEI - Unique Entity Identifier); Grants.gov (a one-time organizational registration that includes designating an Authorized Organization Representative); and PAMS (required to submit a pre-application or the Letter of Intent). DOE warns that applicants not registered with SAM and/or Grants.gov should allow up to 8 weeks. (SBA Company Registry registration is also part of the SBIR/STTR baseline and is listed as a mandatory document in Field 12.)

Phase I awards are up to $200,000 (for six months to one year). The exact ceiling depends on the topic and the current FOA.

The Phase I budget period may be less than, but no longer than 12 months (typically 6 to 12 months). The Phase II application is due approximately 9.5 months after the project start date, and critical milestones should be completed in the first 9 months.

FY2026 Phase I deadlines per the DOE Office of Science FY-2026 funding page (all marked 'Delayed'): Release 1 - FOA issued Mon Aug 4, 2025; LOI due Tue Aug 26, 2025 5:00pm ET; full applications due Tue Oct 7, 2025 11:59pm ET. Release 2 - FOA issued Mon Dec 15, 2025; LOI due Tue Jan 6, 2026 5:00pm ET; full applications due Wed Feb 25, 2026 1:59pm ET. (Third-party sources citing a July 7, 2026 Release 2 deadline are NOT supported by the live DOE page; do not rely on that date.)